The MMBL Pathfinder group is developing two leisure-related ventures – a boat ride on the Kelani river and a tourist residential facility in the Knuckles mountain range, company officials said.
The boat project, aimed at encouraging locals and visitors to explore Sri Lanka’s waterways will be undertaken in collaboration with an experienced Nordic company. The boat has been manufactured by veteran boat builder Neil Marine at a cost of Rs.4.5 million.
It has a capacity of 16 passengers, seated facing each other with a cable in between and would be used on the Kelani river and the Hamilton canal which runs along the west coast.
The Knuckles range facility off Rangala is on a 20 acre land area at an investment of Rs.500 million. This project is expected to serve the interests of nature savvy tourists with tent-type accommodation units comprising 25 tents with all facilities provided with the minimum use of glass, concrete and steel, officials said.MMBL Pathfinder has proposed a tented facility in a bid to ensure there would be no impact on the world heritage site as this would be located outside this area.
On the river project, a marina would be developed in proximity to the Kelani river to also assist even locals to use their own boats on the river and popularise this activity among them. At present the scheduled route for the tour on the river was to leave from the Kelani river and enter the Hamilton canal and then move upto the Negombo lagoon.
MMBL Pathfinder plans to invite local travel agents and tour operators to find out for themselves the availability of these options to market in their travel packages in future.
Officials said the Knuckles project is awaiting approval from the relevant authorities. European travellers would be the likely holidaymakers attracted to this setting with those interested in hiking and trekking similar to the adventure tourists in Nepal.
The UNESCO World Heritage committee has resorted to encourage the promotion of natural heritage sites by ensuring a close rapport and cooperation between the park authorities, the local community living around the heritage sites and the tourism industry.
It is in this light that MMBL Pathfinder had looked at creating awareness among the people with regard to the natural heritage and beauty and in a bid to popularise the said attraction aims at developing the Rangala tent type accommodation units to attract tourists.
Sri Lanka Travel Feneteko